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Militant Islam Monitor > Articles > Leaders of Hamas linked group met with Obama's Transition Team

Leaders of Hamas linked group met with Obama's Transition Team

January 18, 2009

MIM: ISNA is a driving force behind the Wahhabi Lobby and is an unindicted co conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation Hamas funding case.

The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) is the largest religious organization representing Muslims in North America. Dr. Mattson has been the organization's president since 2006.

The ISNA describes itself as "an association of Muslim organizations and individuals that provides a common platform for presenting Islam, supporting Muslim communities, developing educational, social and outreach programs and fostering good relations with other religious communities, and civic and service organizations."

Does Mattson's organization make good on its promise to foster relations with other religious communities? In 2007 and in last July, federal prosecutors in Dallas filed court documents linking Mattson's ISNA with the Hamas terrorist organization. Neither Mattson nor ISNA have been charged. However, prosecutors wrote in July that they possessed "a wide array of testimonial and documentary evidence expressly linking" the ISNA with Hamas and other radical groups. http://www.campus-watch.org/article/id/6647

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From the ISNA website article(complete text below):


Also on January 14, Dr. Sayyid Syeed, National Director of the ISNA Office for Interfaith and Community Alliances, joined an NRCAT delegation that met with the Obama Transition Team's directors. The NRCAT delegation discussed their request to the President-elect for an executive order ending torture and why the religious community is asking for an executive order on Inauguration Day.
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NYT article quote (complete text below)

Ingrid Mattson, president of the Islamic Society of North America, said, "We have lost the support of allied nations for our polices, and we have lost the good will of ordinary people across the world who now see us as hypocrites."

http://www.isna.net/articles/News/ISNA-JOINS-IN-ASKING-PRESIDENT-ELECT-OBAMA-TO-ISSUE-AN-EXECUTIVE-ORDER-BANNING-TORTURE.aspx


ISNA JOINS IN ASKING PRESIDENT-ELECT OBAMA TO ISSUE AN EXECUTIVE ORDER BANNING TORTURE

WASHINGTON, DC - January 14, 2009: Dr. Ingrid Mattson, President of the Islamic Society of North America, joined religious leaders from various Christian and Jewish denominations calling upon President-elect Obama to issue an executive order ending torture once in office.

0A They reminded the President-elect that during Human Rights Day on December 10, 2008 he said "agreements Americans helped forge – the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Geneva Conventions, and treaties against torture and genocide" and declared that this commitment to inalienable human rights "unites us with people from every country and culture." The document, which was generated by the National Religious Campaign Against Torture, states that while the signatories "represent a wide diversity of America's faith traditions, we all believe in the inherent worth and dignity of all human life. Respect for the dignity of every person must serve as the foundation for security, justice and peace."

Torture, they said, is "incompatible with the tenets of our faiths and is contrary to international and U.S. law." In their letter to the President-elect, whose paternal grandfather was tortured by the British colonial authorities in Kenya, the NRCAT enclosed a Declaration of Principles for a Presidential Executive Order banning torture which has been endorsed by religious leaders, foreign affairs specialists, and former military officers. They asked Obama to review this Declaration of Principles and issue an executive order as quickly as possible. NRCAT believes that such an action will help the United States regain moral footing and restore credibility in the international community. NRCAT also hosted a press conference in Washington, D.C. on January 14.

Dr. Mattson stated during the event that ISNA has been a member of NRCAT from its inception and expressed "our ardent support of this cause. Islam prohibits torture and the degrading treatment of prisoners. Such treatment is a violation of human rights and human dignity." Dr. Mattson also stated that "It is understandable that rights need to be guarded in a democracy, but who could have imagined that we would have to argue for the restoration of such basic human rights, such as the right of habeus corpus and the right to freedom from torture. Terrible violations of human dignity have been committed in the name of security. But today we are less secure because of these violations. We have lost the support of allied nations for our policies and we have lost the good will of many ordinary people across the world that now sees us as hypocrites. Tragically, while the US previously set a high moral standard for other nations to follow, some nations now see our rationalization of prisoner mistreatment as justification for their abusive policies in the name of security."

Also on January 14, Dr. Sayyid Syeed, National Director of the ISNA Office for Interfaith and Community Alliances, joined an NRCAT delegation that met with the Obama Transition Team's directors. The NRCAT delegation discussed their request to the President-elect for an executive order ending torture and why the religious community is asking for an executive orde r on Inauguration Day.


Please click HERE to view NRCAT's Executive Order Banning Torture
http://www.nrcat.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=211&Itemid=160 NYtimes article on the NRCAT press conference http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/15/us/15torture.html
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http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/15/us/15torture.html?_r=1

January 15, 2009

Religious Groups Seek Swift Ban From Obama on Torture

By LAURIE GOODSTEIN A broad coalition of religious groups is calling on President-elect Barack Obama to issue an executive order on his first day in office banning the use of torture. Leaders20of the coalition, the National Religious Campaign Against Torture, met with officials from the Obama transition team on Wednesday afternoon and emerged saying they were optimistic about the prospects for such an order. Linda Gustitus, the group's president, said the coalition leaders met with Michael Strautmanis, who has been named chief of staff to Valerie Jarrett, a senior Obama adviser. "He gave every indication that it's going to happen, not necessarily on Day 1, but that it's going to happen," Ms. Gustitus said. "So we're encouraged. We still believe that it would be a very, very important statement to the nation and the world, were it to take place on Day 1."

The coalition, which was formed in 2006, includes Roman Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox Christian groups, as well as organizations representing Muslims, Jews, Bahais, Hindus, Buddhists and Sikhs. They asked their congregations to recite a prayer to end torture in the 10 days before Mr. Obama takes office. In a news conference on Wednesday, the Rev.20Dr. John Thomas, president and general minister of the United Church of Christ, said, "All over the world, people are looking this week for a clear and strong word that change has come, that religious values are not simply to be pandered to for votes, but are principles that underlie policy."

Ingrid Mattson, president of the Islamic Society of North America, said, "We have lost the support of allied nations for our polices, and we have lost the good will of ordinary people across the world who now see us as hypocrites."

The group wants the executive order to include a commitment to close secret prisons around the world where terrorism suspects were held, and to stop the practice of rendition, in which detainees have been transferred to other countries, including some known to use torture.

Officials in Mr. Obama's transition office declined to comment on whether an executive order would be coming. The president-elect has been outspoken in condemning the use of torture, saying at a news conference last week, "I was clear throughout this campaign, and have been clear throughout this transition, that under my administration, the United States does not torture, we will abide by the Geneva conventions, that we will uphold our highest values and ideals." Mr. Obama added, "I think it is important for us to do that not only because that is who=2 0we are, but also ultimately it will make us safer and will help in changing hearts and minds in our struggle against extremists."


MIM: More on ISNA:

The Islamic Society of North America calls itself the largest Muslim organization on the continent. Its annual convention draws more attendees - usually over 30,000 - than any other Arab or Muslim gathering in the Western Hemisphere. ISNA devotes much of its energy to providing Wahhabi theological indoctrination materials to some 1,100 of the approximately 2,500 mosques in North America. Many of these mosques were recently built with Saudi money and are required, by their Saudi benefactors, to strictly follow the dictates of Wahhabi imams. Through its affiliate, the North American Islamic Trust - a Saudi government-backed organization created to fund Islamist enterprises in North America - the Saudi-subsidized ISNA reportedly holds the mortgages of between 50 and 79 percent of all mosques in the U.S. and Canada. http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/Read.aspx?GUID=f1ba8662-bb64-4358-bc6c-d862e27fb90e

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